The residentail unit wags the tail of the dog
Unlike the residential unit the nursing unit does not provide person centred care to all the residents, care staff are given the freedom to decide when someone gets up and goes to bed or stays in bed all day has a shower or a bath or neither! The care is very much institutionalised due to the fact that the majority cannot speak up for themselves and relatives are not encouraged to be involved. Recently there was a relatives meeting just for the residential unit, when challenged the manager said one would be arranged for the nursing unit but we are still waiting! The care staff on the nursing unit should, in our opinion, be the very best but all too often the better staff are allocated on the residential unit. Staff training is also abysmal as it is based on E-Learning which cannot prepare staff for the practical tasks they will be involved in. The majority of the nurses are only interested in paper work and the medication rounds and do not appear to contribute to the practical training of the care staff. As the last CQC report high lighted some of the staff can be rude and not nice at all, not only to residents but also to relatives which appears to be acceptable, what goes on behind closed doors on the nursing unit is a real worry. Finally the staffing for the nursing unit on nights is 1 nurse, 1 senior and 2 care staff but in the early hours 1 carer has to go onto the residential unit to help get people washed and dressed ready for the day staff, prior to this some of the nursing unit residents who cannot speak for themselves are washed and dressed ready for the day staff to hoist them out of bed if they are allowed up. Not long ago a resident on the nursing unit had not had a morning wash by 16.00hrs! The only way the nursing unit at Euxton Park will improve is if all staff are trained, to be professional in their dealings with people, in person centred care and in the basics of good care starting with compassion, dignity and respect and how good care is delivered. The induction period for new staff is very poor and often new staff are put with staff who are known to have bad habits so it becomes a vicious circle of the new picking up the bad habits of the couldn't care less staff.